Crimson Coins
by MariNisharo
Summary: Set after the Dragon Crisis. Khajiit Dar'ari thinks the Dragonborn is no longer necessary to Skyrim and joins the Dark Brotherhood. Her adventures with Arnbjorn, Aventus and Cicero by her side as she has to kill the remaining Dragons all over Skyrim and deal with the civil war. Rated M for minor Profanity along with sexual themes and extreme violence. (On Hold but queued)
1. Running from the Past

**[A/N] This is my first ever Skyrim fanfiction that will focus on the journeys of my OC. I intend to keep my chapters above the three thousand word mark. That being said, it may take me a little while to write each chapter. I will update every time I finish a chapter. This is going to follow the civil war storyline while having heavy ties to the Dark Brotherhood. This is set after the dragon crisis and is relatively canon, but eventually the only canon thing will be a loose storyline of the civil war.**

 **Disclaimer! Skyrim belongs to Bethesda Studios. I own nothing other than my Oc's and perhaps the non-canonical story line.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

Crimson Coins

The Dragon Crisis long over by a good several years, there was little need for the Dragonborn. After the defeat of Alduin, the Dragonborn had wandered throughout Skyrim to each of the nine holds. She became the Thane of each and as such was able to buy property from them or have a place to stay while she was there, each fully furnished and full of worthless items collected during her journeys in the Dragon Crisis Era. She had one primary residence while the rest were just extra storage for her useless weapons or a place to hide from angry guards.

The hold of Solitude was her main home; but now the Dragon Crisis was over, she was painfully aware that her existence as the Dragonborn was no longer useful for the people of Skyrim other than the mundane tasks. Strangers begged help from the Dragonborn and help is just what she gave. After a while of this she grew bored. Boredom had claimed her and she left her house less and less.

Solitude began to notice the presence of the Dragonborn slowly whittling away until they were not sure she was still around. She kept a journal of all the times she had been out. Her times in Skyrim had been documented all the way up until the defeat of Alduin. Many other hobbies had been practiced in the home while others were unaware of the owner's presence. She practiced enchanting armor and alchemy until she was running out of room for all the different armor and bottles of various liquids.

After spending close to a year being a hermit and hiding from the world around her, she sent a letter to the Jarl. Her letter had only held a few details explaining that she would be gone for a while and had asked that nobody set foot in there while she was gone. She left with a word to the Housecarl who had been staying with her bidding that the Housecarl return to the Blue Palace until her further notice.

The Dragonborn returned to Solitude after eight or so years of being gone. She did not wish to be seen so a potion of invisibility was needed to slip past the guards and into her house. After a year, the only notable thing about the place was the amount of dust that had accumulated on nearly everything. She went down to the basement and began to sort out her armor.

There were only a few pieces that seemed to be worth much. She had a couple mannequins with special armor placed carefully on each. One was the sleek shining armor she had crafted all on her own, a full set of Deadra armor. The other was crafted from dragon scales. They were a brilliant dark color with little flecks of red on certain bunches of scales. She had taken masses of material from a rather strong blood dragon she had once faced and had never regretted the day when she crafted some of the most unique armor in all of Skyrim.

She was in no need of heavy armor anymore though. She had on sleek red and black armor with a cowl to keep her identity hidden. It was the uniform of the Dark Brotherhood. She was now Listener. The Sanctuary had been moved to Dawnstar and the only remaining members were Babette, Cicero, Nazir and herself. After the initial relocation, there had been a few more people added to the Dark Brotherhood. She had personally tracked down Aventus Aretino and initiated him into the Dark Brotherhood since he had waned to become an assassin when she had finished the first task she had ever been assigned.

She had appreciated Aventus as if he was her own family, but of course he was her family when she had the Dark Brotherhood. She knew that all the family that she every needed was with the Brotherhood. They were there when she needed them and did not want it any other way.

* * *

She had been too occupied with the admiration of her heavy armor to hear the ever so soft click of the door upstairs. A figure padded lightly downstairs and stood watching the Dragonborn brushing the dust off a unique piece of armor. "Dar'ari," she turned from her armor, still masked with the cowl, regret and sadness apparent in her eyes. "You are getting better Aventus, you could have easily killed me should I have been named in a contract," she turned towards her armor, "these used to be my pride and joy."

Dar'ari took the helmet off her Deadric set and turned towards Aventus, "This was the set of armor I wore when I defeated Alduin," she handed him the helmet. He looked at it with newfound curiosity, admiring the intricate work and fine craftsmanship. He looked up at her, admiration clear in his bright eyes, "you made this?" She nodded, took the helmet back and set it on the mannequin's head.

He was drawn to the dragon scaled armor that was set up next to the Deadric armor. He set a gloved hand on the chest piece and studied the black scales with red speckles. "You were the Dragonborn," he spoke so quietly, "weren't you?" Dar'ari did not speak for a long while, he was not sure she had heard him.

He turned around to see she was no longer in the room. "Dar'ari?" he voiced to the empty room. Aventus began to walk through the house, admiring some of the things she had collected over the years fighting dragons. He walked upstairs to where the bedroom was and saw where it was that Dar'ari went. She was sitting on the bed holding an old war hammer. It looked to be Deadric, from the set downstairs.

"Dar'ari," she looked up. Her cat-eyes full of tears began to overflow and wet the fur on her face. Her tail was wrapped around her waist and her claws had ripped through her gloves. "Dar'ari," He repeated, "Maybe we should go? You still have that contract to do." She had put off coming to Solitude all those years, turning down any contract that happened to be in or near Solitude except the brief time she had to shut down a wedding.

Aventus watched patiently as she put her war hammer back on the rack and picked up a small silver ring from on the nightstand. She steeled herself and then went back downstairs to the basement. Potions were scattered across every available surface and haphazardly stashed in drawers and barrels. Pieces of armor and other garbs with slight glowing auras lay in piles around the place while glowing weapons were hung on racks and on walls.

She was looking through some of the potions on the alchemy table that were in cream-colored bottles. Dar'ari found a few bottles she deemed worthy and handed them to Aventus, "Invisibility potions. Use them to get out of the house and then wait for me by the stables." She grabbed a few other bottles, a hunting bow and then drank a potion. She was gone, almost vanished into thin air except the footprints in the dust leading to the door.

Aventus followed in suit. He was at the stables in time for the potion to wear off, and made sure to note the bitter taste of the potion. Shadowmere was waiting there patiently as Dar'ari ordered. Aventus waited for a few moments until he noticed the outline of a person coming towards him. Dar'ari slowly began to reappear before him.

She patted Shadowmere on the nose. Aventus hopped on and she got on behind him getting herself situated. There was a time where she was the rider in the front but Aventus continually sat on her tail. They rode in silence all the way back to the Dawnstar Sanctuary with the exception of a stop when Dar'ari had to fight off a snow bear that got a little too close to Shadowmere for her liking.

* * *

"Nazir!" Dar'ari walked out of torture room holding a dagger that's blade was a dull red from being held in the fire, "I need you to clean up in here and dispose of the far left corner Nord." Nazir got up and heatedly walked into the torture room. "Aventus, I have another contract to fulfill will you be coming with?" Dar'ari set down the dagger in favor of her ebony bow, "I'm going to be making a few stops on the way." Aventus shuffled into the room with his arms full of parchment, "Sure, let me just get ready, I'll meet you outside the black door."

Dar'ari was glad that Aventus was going to take a little while for she enjoyed the cool wind. She pulled down her mask and felt the cool wind on her nose as it blew through her whiskers. _I am rather glad I have company on this trip,_ she though, _but he will slow me down some._ Aventus came out dressed in the usual Dark Brotherhood armor with his daggers and a war axe in his belt. "Lets get going then," Aventus started walking towards Dawnstar.

Dar'ari and Aventus made it all the way to Whiterun before nightfall. Dar'ari had Shadowmere boarded at the Whiterun stables for the night while they could stay in Breezehome heading to Ivarstead. She walked up after passing several guards with a curt wave. Most of the people knew Dar'ari around Whiterun, as the Dragonborn since she could not have hidden her identity in the beginning. People also knew her since she worked with the Companions for a brief while before her defeat of Alduin.

She put the key in the door and opened it to the same basic changes she had seen to her home in Solitude: dust everywhere and everything just the way she left it. She took the main room while Aventus took the spare room that she had to clean out first. She had to shake the dust off the bed of the main room and move some of the random junk from off the end tables. It was getting rather cold these days so she took a few of the bear pelts from the trunk and laid them on the bed.

That night Dar'ari was plagued with nightmares involving dragons and dead people. She saw the faces of all those she has killed and all the dragons she slaughtered. No amount of fighting could save her from the corpses. She was armed with only her claws and her shouts. She could shout all she wanted, but that would not save her. Their ghostly voices were taunting her, "Dar'ari… Dar'ari… Dar'ari…" She sprang up from her bed with claws at the ready and her night vision beginning to take effect.

Aventus was peering in through the door, "Dar'ari, are you alright?" He had a small candle lit and could see her outline against the walls. "I'm sorry, but you had been yelling and I had feared the worst," he waited a few more seconds until he could see she was settled, "I will go back to bed, pardon." Dar'ari had settled back into bed but could not find the will to go back to sleep, perhaps sleep would claim her before the morning, but that did not seem so likely.

Instead of going back to sleep like she had tried fruitlessly to do, she decided to go downstairs and start a fire in the cooking area. She had been a terrible mage when she first began to read spell books no thanks to her limited skills and shallow reserves of magicka. A simple flame spell was easy and helped her start a fire nearly effortlessly. The entire house would soon be warm and she might be able to curl up and sleep; sadly for Dar'ari, dawn came before her sleep did.

Food was done and being kept warm by the waning fire. Although she was quite tired and a bit distracted with what she wished to do today, Dar'ari had heard the ever so quiet squeak of the stairs. "Good morning," Dar'ari had not bothered to turn around but instead began to pour a bowl of porridge for Aventus, "Do you prefer yours sweet or bland?" He mentally chastised himself for the creak of the stairs. Perhaps one day he would be able to sneak properly. "I would like it sweetened please. No offence to you or your cooking but I never quite appreciated the flavor of porridge," He took the bowl, sat at the table and mixed the glob of honey into his food.

After breakfast the two assassins set out to Ivarstead with all due haste. She sat in the lead position when mounting the horse being incredibly careful her tail is out of the way for when Aventus unceremoniously and ungracefully plopped onto the back of the saddle. "Hold on," Dar'ari had instructed quite abrasively just before she gently tapped Shadowmere with her heels and leaned forward as the Deadric steed began to gallop down the path.

Aventus had always hated the back of the saddle when he was forced to ride behind Dar'ari, especially when she had him galloping across the uneven roads of Skyrim. They only stopped once on the way to their destination while letting Shadowmere rest and while they had themselves a small snack. Their rest was short and they were back on the road and kicking up dust as they rode onwards. Ivarstead was just as bland as Dar'ari remembered. She and Aventus dismounted and began their long walk up the mountain.

She knew; she just knew that she should have been more patient and stayed the night at the inn. A rather abrupt storm made itself present during their ascent of the stairs and the snow began to blow something fierce. Dar'ari set up a tent as quickly as she could before the storm got worse and before her waning light was gone for the night. After a few very stressful and frustrating attempts at fighting with a tent she had been furious with the contraption. _How could something so simple be so difficult to assemble!_ She though angrily while a low growl came from her throat.

Aventus who was already fully aware of the wrath of this particular Khajiit had quickly helped her pitch the tent and pack snow around the edges so it would not fly away or become undone once again. After quickly retreating inside and tying the flaps closed Dar'ari began to set out a bedroll. It was not for her but for Aventus; she has made this climb many times but she knew he had not and knew he was exhausted.

The night was cold and unforgiving. The winds howled nearly all night and despite the tent being rather insulated, it was beginning to get colder and colder by the moments. The two assassins began to shiver uncontrollably. _All this fur and I still can't stay warm,_ she thought, _I want to use a fire spell but I do not want to burn our only shelter down should it get out of control._ She growled due to her frustration about the current situations and her anger at the cold seeping into her bones.

By her count there were still a few hours before dawn would claim the sky and the cold was getting colder as the night progressed. Her frustrations get the better of her as she curls up closely to Aventus to try to keep as warm as possible. Their combined warmth does help with the shivering so that it only occurs once in a while. Being trained in the brotherhood for as many years as she has been there, closeness began to affect her less and less. After a long while she began to think nothing of curling up next to a fellow assassin to keep warm. Although it still bothered her slightly, as harsh memories die hard, she got over it for her own wellbeing.

At the break of dawn Dar'ari was already up and dismantling their overnight shelter. The walk down the path brought them to an area Dar'ari knew very well, something she liked to call 'The White Ambush'. Rightfully named, The White Ambush was the place where nearly everyone was jumped by frost troll or two. She of course was never lucky enough to get by without invoking the anger of the territorial beasts. She sunk a few arrows deep into the beast's shoulder but that did little to hamper it.

She had once heard that they had an incredible ability to heal themselves but Dar'ari had not believed until she saw for herself. She was angry, oh so angry that the beast had yet to fall lifeless on the ground. "Aventus, get behind me!" She yelled over to him just as he dodged a swing from its massive forearm. Anger boiling her blood at the sight of the still living troll continued to add to her will. She inhaled deeply and got into a stance much like she was bracing herself.

 **Yol Toor Shul!**

The fire from the Thu'um had left her lips hot. Her eyes were full of bloodlust as she watched the troll writhe in agony. The smell of burning flesh quickly filled the air as the burning corpse began to turn to ash and the snow around it melted. Aventus was awestruck at the sight of a shout and the heat he could feel even from behind Dar'ari.

After a few moments of watching the ashes blow through the wind, Dar'ari felt it was time to continue moving. They walked quickly through the temple while waving to a Greybeard here and there while keeping a quick pace towards the courtyard. She ran through the courtyard as fast as she possibly could and shouting the dangerous winds away all the way up the mountain. Aventus could never have prepared for what would ensue next.

Dar'ari used the power of the Thu'um directed towards the sky. Aventus had no idea what she could be saying in the tongue of the dragons but he had stopped caring once he had to cover his ears. There was louder roaring and a large dark shadow swept over the snow. The ground shook gently with vibrations as a dragon landed on a Shrine of sorts. She spoke loudly in a tongue he could not recognize at all except that every once in a while a tiny plume of fire would come from her mouth.

After what seemed to be forever to the young man, he finally witnessed Dar'ari wave goodbye to the dragon and then release the same shout from before and a mighty blaze came from her mouth. "Paarthurnax. He's an old friend of mine," she turned towards Aventus who was shocked beyond words. "We can continue to the contract now, I just had to see him while I was in the area." Aventus just nodded as they began the long walk down the hill. Within a few hours they were back down in Ivarstead and on their way to meet a contract that Night Mother told her would pay heftily.


	2. The Game is On

The contract did pay with lots of gold and claims of his eternal servitude after they returned with the target's head under the arm of a very irritated Khajiit. She was a little less than happy to tell the story to Cicero who wanted to know every gruesome detail. She began her story of her target's demise, "Well I was sent to kill a rather obnoxious Nord whom had a little too much to drink each night and never paid his tab. The client asked us only one thing: we bring him back the Nord's head. I had left most of my weapons with Shadowmere with the intention to make this a quick kill. Well during my attempt, he tossed my beautiful dagger out the window. I clawed him to death and then proceeded to try and pull off his head. After several attempts, I had to use my claws to take it off."

The jester had a look of bloodlust in his eyes and he began to talk in his signature third person, "Cicero loves the story Listener! Next time Listener should bring poor bored Cicero with her so he may also pull off a Nord's head." Dar'ari ad considered bringing him with her on this one instead of Aventus but did not feel like making the trek to Throat of the World while having her ears talked off. Not to mention his obvious disregard for personal space.

The rest of the night Dar'ari spent in her room writing in her journals. The journals were a way to keep track of all that had happened and were a continuation of her bookshelf full of journals back in Solitude. These were all about her times in the brotherhood and all her contracts she has completed. She was currently adding her venture to Throat of the World and the messy beheading of the drunken Nord with perfect penmanship.

Her journals had been getting full. She had three of them filled with perfect, small lettering gruesomely reciprocating the scenes of each of her kills. She made sure to include each detail: scents, sounds and sights. There was nothing like the smell of freshly spilled blood pooling around the victim's knees as they kneel with their dying breath and try to speak only to have their words drowned by the sound of gurgling blood and wheezing lungs. Her favorite story by far had been her first contracted kill. Grelod the Kind, the sloppy first kill that sparked a life in the Dark Brotherhood.

Aventus would ask her at times to recall the story during their journeys; it seemed to be his favorite story by far. Every time she told it though, she could not help but wonder if she had every detail in place as well as it was written in her journal. The journals were sacred to her though, and she had kept them tucked away from the prying eyes of her brothers and sisters. Dar'ari looked over her past journals, over her numerous past contracts each written finely detailed, and could not help but feel pride. She was becoming a seasoned assassin. She did remind herself, _this is because I have studied my errors of past contracts, and this is because of hard work. I should be proud. You should be proud father._

She shutters at the thought of her father. A story she had left locked in the back of her mind; a story that created the path to her destiny.

* * *

She sat before the shrine of the Night Mother dressed in her best clothing she had in the Sanctuary which happened to be a very fine looking raiment. She had only worn the thing whenever she addressed the Night Mother as she assumed it would be disrespectful to come to her dressed in bloody armor.

 _My Listener has come home from yet another completed duty,_ the voice within her mind began to speak to her, _and just in time, for I have more contracts. Six contracts and two have asked for you specifically._ The Shadow of Fur was the title she preferred to introduce herself as. Her medium grey fur with white highlights and a white plume on the end of her tail were perfect for camouflage in snowy places. But for places where her white fur sticks out like a sore thumb, she always has a few sticks or charcoal to mask her white fur.

She walked into the dining area where Nazir made a habit of occupying, "Nazir, I have contracts for you," She hands him the paper with all the information scribbled on them, "I have two contracts and will be leaving tomorrow. They asked for me specifically so I am going to bring Aventus and Cicero to watch my back. I would like you to bring Asuicus with you as he still requires much training." She changes out of her nice clothing in favor of some black robes recently stolen from Winterhold. They were rather long for her and dragged along the ground slightly.

Dar'ari was done dealing with her work for now, but as Listener, there was not usually a day of rest. It was always listen to Mother, help with a contract, scope out this new initiate, babysit the clown or help with accounting. Oh how boring and dismal it was for Dar'ari. She was babysitting at this current moment. Making herself comfortable near the shrine and reading a spell tome while Cicero chattered to her about whatever was on his mind was not how she wanted to spend the afternoon. "Cicero thinks the Listener should do some listening to him instead of reading her book. Cicero knows spells, he will teach you instead!" Cicero practically threw her book across the room while taking a seat at the same table she was.

The scowl on her face gave way when they began to demonstrate their spells. She knew only the few basic spells, her favorite being the simple flames spell. She knew the soul trap spell as well as it was necessary for collecting the souls used for enchanting. Dar'ari was in the process of learning the magelight spell before the book was so rudely taken and thrown across the room by the jester who thought he was funny.

After several hours of trying to do as Cicero instructed, Dar'ari finally was able to create a very dim, very small glowing orb. "See, Cicero told you it was possible without the book." He told her very matter-of-factly. "Yes, you were right Cicero." She leans back in her chair and sighs. "What is the matter sweet Listener? Anything Cicero can do to lighten the mood? Listener can use Cicero any way she pleases." He gave her a smug look when her whiskers stood on end.

She had known Cicero for many years. She had met him before her work with the Brotherhood even began. She had considered all the times he had offered but felt it was not appropriate to fraternize within the Brotherhood. Her thoughts had brought her to the times of the old sanctuary where fraternization between assassins went on all around her. "You can assist me with cleaning my armor and helping me shake the soot from the white parts of my fur."

She stood and walked to her room with Cicero close behind. The other assassins knew she had no desire to form any real relationships so when she went into her room with Cicero and closed the door they thought nothing of it. It was an often occurrence but they did remember that she often needed help making her fur white again. The other assassins were also painfully aware that nudity did not bother her whatsoever. She was covered in fur that had thickened to her constant exposure to the cold of Dawnstar so plenty was left to the imagination. She was completely covered with her grey and white fur and, according to her since they could not see anything, she was not being indecent.

She threw her cloak on the bed as a thin plume of dust came from her fur reminded her that she was mostly grey at the moment. She handed Cicero a brush and he began to gently brush her tail. She took the time to roughly run her hands through her fur and reveal the gleaming white that was once hidden. Dust flew off every time she brushed it off causing her to sneeze. Plenty of dust was gone after her sneeze and all that was left was to run a wet rag over her white.

Dar'ari took the moment tickle Cicero's nose with her tail effectively dispatching the rest of the soot. She shook her robe to clean it off and put it back on after carefully shining her fur with the rag. "Which weapons does the Listener wish for Cicero to sharpen?" He stood their waiting to do her bidding. Dar'ari sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Cicero happily sat on the bed and waited for her to tell him what was on her mind. "You are coming with me to those contracts right?" She asks him. "Of course sweet Listener. Wherever the Listener goes, the Keeper will follow."

* * *

The early morning was cold as usual with icy wind that burns exposed skin. The trio of assassins, the Listener, the Keeper and the Initiate walked over to where their horses were staying. There were only two horses there now, Shadowmere who seemed anxious to get out and run around and another horse whom was grey with black speckles here and there. Dar'ari held the grey horse still while Aventus got on. She and Cicero got onto Shadowmere, Dar'ari in front since he was a lot more mindful of her tail than Aventus. Cicero also knew that if he angered her in the slightest, he would invoke her wrath.

The contracts were rather easy to get to, some of the more common contracts were located in Whiterun and Riverwood was not far away. They got to the path that led away from Dawnstar. "Aventus, we meet up at Whiterun stables alright?" She had a grin on her face. "Yes, of course Dar'ari, but am I not traveling with you?" He looked rather confused at her odd question. She whispered over her shoulder to Cicero, "Hold on!" He braced himself and looked over at Aventus with the same evil grin Dar'ari had on. She yelled, "If you can catch us!" and practically kicked Shadowmere's sides while she slapped the reins. The horse jumped forward and began to run at close to top speeds.

Aventus just laughed and did the same with his mount, eager to catch up with his jokester travel companions. The race Dar'ari set in motion was a close one, with Herself and Cicero arriving about five minutes before Aventus. They had already left Shadowmere in the care of the stable hand when he arrived on a very tired horse. "I had to stop and let him catch his breath half way here." He said looking quite winded as well. They began the walk into the city and straight to where their contract was waiting, the Warmaiden's.

She approached Ulfberth and stood there quietly until the other patrons had left. "The Shadow of Fur is here." She wished to keep her talks short. She had on a clever disguise, which was nothing more than her old Nightingale armor. She had also collected some of the special armor from Brynjolf and Karliah after some persuasion so that both Cicero and Aventus could blend in better as well. She figured it was better to look like worshippers of Nocturnal rather than a band of assassins.

"Ah yes, the Shadow of Fur. Please come with me to the back room where we can discuss this more privately." Ulfberth said in a tone that struck Dar'ari as either concerned or surprised. Once in the back room, she was handed a large bag of coins, "That is just half. Frilia Raven-Hair owns this little shop down by Riverwood. She has a deed to a very nice piece of land that I want. I want her death to look like an accident. Bring me the deed and the rest of the gold is yours."

This sounded simple enough to the trio and its proximity to Riverwood was also a nice bonus. They took of for Riverwood as soon as was possible and made sure to leave the horses overnight so that they did not have to give up more gold in Riverwood so someone would watch them. Dar'ari spotted the little shop that was on the outskirts of town. It was a general store with a grindstone behind the counter. The woman had marvelous long black hair and was very happy to see customers. "Oh! I have not had anybody in to look at my wares for quite a while. What can I do for you three?"

Dar'ari was already formulating a plan as soon as she saw the grindstone. Adopting the sweetest impersonation of a native Khajiit she could, she spoke, "This one wishes to have dagger sharp. Khajiit hear from friend this one can get dagger sharp here." The woman seemed ecstatic and took a steel dagger from her satchel to give to the woman. "Khajiit have gold for afterwards." She continued with her ruse. Frilia got to work on the dagger right away.

Dar'ari walked over to where she was working and spoke again, "Dar'ari wishes to wishes to admire lovely hair, may she?" she pulled down the mask to show a smile. She did not wait for Frilia to answer and began to 'inspect' the woman's hair. When the dagger was nice and sharp, Dar'ari yanked the woman's hair into the grindstone. The hair quickly got tangled and dragged the woman's face into the point of the dagger as she struggled. The dagger impaled her eye and she quickly slumped over.

"Did Dar'ari make accident look believable? She believes accident looks gruesome but real." She giggled and put her mask back on. "Now my Listener talks like dear Cicero! Listener should talk like that more often," He gets overly excited and does not realize the game he had just started. "Khajiit thinks she will talk like this for while. She likes to see Keeper happy." She quickly trifled through the desk in the back and found the deed they were supposed to collect.

The trio was heading back to Riverwood for the night since they prefer not to have to slaughter any bandits that decide they have good wares. They paid for a few rooms and had a warm dinner before retiring to their rooms. Dar'ari has decided to really play this game, but perhaps she will only do so around Cicero as not to over do its novelty.

* * *

Dar'ari got up and made way to the counter happy to be free of her loud companions—the two get along so well that after a while their jokes get a bit lewd and it is just terrible behavior. "Khajiit is here looking for client, tall man, long hair. Khajiit heard he is good business for you." The barkeep pointed to a table in the middle of the room. She hurriedly walked over there. "You called for an exterminator?" she dropped her accent and whispered over the table. "The bard is terrible. Choke him with his lute strings. He is sleeping across the hall." He passed over a very expensive looking sapphire necklace.

She walked over and entered the bard's room while the barkeep was occupied with something else. She delicately cut the lute strings off with her claws and walked over to the sleeping man. She took the strings and wrapped them around his neck before he awoke. Dar'ari braced herself and then pulled. The bards struggling began almost instantaneously as the strings tightened around his neck and began to cut into the skin slightly.

Next was the choking and clawing at his throat, which she cackled at quietly. After a whole minute of struggling he finally went limp. She kept the strings on until she knew for sure he was dead and that he would not have just passed out. She exited the room quietly and was thankful the barkeep was nowhere to be seen. She hurried up to Aventus's room and knocked on the door until he answered. "Get dressed and hurry, we have to go, now." She ran to Cicero's room, "Cicero, get up Please, Khajiit the Listener commands it!" He walked out and he seemed to be ready to go even before she had done the contract.

They practically ran all he way to Whiterun. They entered the gates and ran to Breezehome. After both Aventus and Cicero were though the door she locked it and leaned against it. "Close call, Khajiit and friends almost got caught." She was breathing heavily, her Nightingale gauntlets were ripped and her fingers were lightly bleeding due to how hard she pulled on the lute strings. Aventus, having previously been here went to get some cloth to wrap her hands.

Dar'ari sighed as she looked at the embers in the pit. Her companions had long since gone to bed. Cicero invited her to join him, and as tempting as such a thing would be, she decided it would have been better to stick around downstairs and keep an eye on the fire. She had never forgot of the many times she has heard of the closeness between Keepers and Listeners. Perhaps the other assassins were just teasing her because they knew how to get under her fur but she always had a nagging feeling to ask Cicero himself. She had decided against it because whenever she asked him anything, he would reply in a cryptic or lewd manner.

Dar'ari curled up on the floor next to the embers and watched their wavering glow. The way they moved made them seem almost alive, and somehow had a calming effect on her nerves. Dar'ari did something she believed she had not done in years. She began to purr softly. It was something she had not done since she was with her family in the caravans. "Cicero did not know that Khajiit could purr." She froze wondering how long he had been there.

Sensing her thoughts, Cicero tried to calm her unnecessary nerves, "Cicero was not here long. He was only going to try and warm up by the fire… Embers, since the fire itself is gone." She relaxed a little but was still very on edge because she had not heard him at all. She knew that each of those steps creaked when stepped on, or at least when she walked on them.

"Khajiit is not worried. Listener trusts Keeper." She sits up and makes room on the floor next to her for Cicero to sit down. They sit quietly for a rather long time. Cicero has his arms around his knees as he rests his chin on them staring into the embers. "Cicero, this one wishes to speak as she once did around you." She looked over at him for some sort of acknowledgement to which he only looked at her waiting for her to go on.

"Cicero, Babette and Nazir keep telling me that Listeners and Keepers are close in that way, or perhaps another way for I am confused." She sighs as she chastised herself for even asking. "Well I would say that they brought it up to tease you," She is momentarily shocked at his change of speech from third person to first, "but what they say is not wrong. Listeners and Keepers were always rather close. How they are close is not something I can say for sure since everyone is different." She steeled herself, "Cicero, how are we supposed to act around each other?"

Cicero chuckled, "Surely you jest Listener! Oh, you're serious?" She nods and he adopts a more serious nature, "Well Listener, you get to decide that." _Making decisions is never easy, may as well keep my options open though,_ she thought. "Well that was a little help I suppose," she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, "well I think I'm going to go to the loft and sleep now, are you coming?" Cicero got up and then held out his hand for Dar'ari, "Let us go Listener."

Dar'ari got in bed naked as the day she was born, but mind you that she is never truly naked with such a thick coat of fur. Cicero got in bed with only the pants to his ridiculous jester's outfit and pulled her close to him. He kept complaining that her soft fur was tickling him but she stopped listening to him and went to sleep wrapped in the crazy imperial's arms.


	3. The Recreation of the Black Hand

Dar'ari, Cicero, and Aventus had ridden back to the Dawnstar Sanctuary at their usual pace, very fast. They were constantly racing to each and every place they had to go, and it was even more fun for them if they were pinned against each other. Dar'ari loved the feeling that riding through the cool wind gave her; it was adrenaline mixed the illusion of freedom (not that she does not have freedom but it is nice to be reminded).

She completely ignored Cicero's complaints about the back of the saddle being too hard and uncomfortable when Shadowmere runs over rough parts in the ground. "Listener! Be more careful, you are hurting Cicero's poor behind." She snorts as a sign an acknowledgement then has herself a quick laugh at his displeasure before slowing Shadowmere down. "Now Aventus is going to win for sure." Shadowmere walks on at a slow pace glad that Cicero had complained because he was starting to feel tired as well.

They arrived at the Dawnstar Sanctuary long after Aventus had and were happy to know there was hot food waiting for them. Dar'ari sat at the table in the main room with Nazir as he did paperwork. She was writing in her journal about her most recent kills while humming a tune that was frequent in her old home with the Khajiit caravans. "Do you still have contracts or did you need me to have another meeting with the Night Mother soon?" She said after she blew the ink dry and closed the book. "Asuicus is still out on a few contracts, but it couldn't hurt to have a few more for when he comes back." He said and then went back to reading.

She went to the shrine set up for the Night Mother and sat before her with parchment and a quill. _My Listener has returned and not a moment too soon. Several people have performed the black sacrament but I have something pressing to discuss with you dear._ Dar'ari readied her quill, _First my child, please ask the Keeper to leave for it is something I wish to only discuss with you and he should not hear half of the things from you._ "Cicero, Mother asked for some privacy, will you please?" He left without a word.

 _Listener, I wish for you to reinstate the Black Hand. Nazir is already a speaker, but you need three more._ Dar'ari mulled it over, "Who should I pick? Or do you pick Mother?" The hissing voice came back into her mind, _There is someone I wish for you to seek out, a Nord woman with snow-white hair. With her is also someone very important whom you will be very happy to see; he is the most important. If she does not come, ensure he does. Start your search in Whiterun. Bring only the Keeper. Do not fail. Here are the contracts for the others…_

Dar'ari had a very long list of people who had prayed to the Night Mother. She did not wish to deal with any of these, they all seemed rather petty to her. There were scorned ex-lovers, angry business partners, people seeking vengeance and others who wish to just cause trouble. Dar'ari went down to Aventus's room and knocked on the door, "Aventus, Nazir has contracts that need to be filled. Please go see him soon."

She made sure to get the list to Nazir so he could begin to get them filled. There were not very many members in the Dark Brotherhood at the moment, which unsettled her greatly. This many contracts were starting to wear on everyone and their lack of sleep was apparent. "I'm off to Whiterun; Mother asked me to find someone very special and bring them here along with someone Mother has deemed essential." She throws her ruined gauntlets on the table, "And can you also do something with these? Fix them preferably but if you can't, I understand." He looked shocked at how torn the fingers were and looked at the bandages on her fingers with curiosity. She noticed and told him, "I had to silence a bard."

* * *

She slept like a kitten that during the night with dreams full of happy memories from when she was younger. She was sleeping soundly until her dreams turned towards a particularly dark memory. A memory she wished she could forget; one that keeps her bitter whenever family is brought up.

 _The sun was warm against Dar'ari's fur as she frolicked through a patch of tall grass with her siblings. She had an older brother who was about ten at the time. He was tall and had black fur with dark grey highlights. Her younger sister resembled Dar'ari very much so except that there was no white on her tail whatsoever. She was about three at the time. Dar'ari herself was about seven and looked very much the same as she did now but with the innocence that comes with being a child._

 _They ran and played for a long time. They wrestled and sparred with each other using sticks as swords. She relished the time that they had together while the caravan was stopped. The world around her seemed to chill as soon as the sun went down. She ran back towards their family tent to be met with a horrible sight. Her father, a large and muscular Khajiit, was standing over her mother with his sword drawn. She was bloodied, beaten and looked to be on the edge of life._

 _It was a normal occurrence for her parents to scrap. Sometimes it would be right in front of her and her siblings but sometimes they would come home to find a scene such as this. Well perhaps it had never been so bad as this. As children, they would usually leave or find somewhere where they would not become a target. Not this time. Her father turned towards them with a crazed look in his eyes; a look usually associated with moonsugar addiction._

 _It was either run or end up a victim. It was utter chaos, her brother grabbed her little sister and took off running. She on the other hand could not outrun her father._

 _She stayed alive. She knew he would never kill her. Her brother and sister were gone for good and she was left as the only thing to receive his anger. It lasted years. Everyone in the caravan had known what went on in the night for nobody could shut out her blood curdling cries. He never hurt her in physical ways. He knew that marring her skin and beauty would ruin her. He was a powerful Mage, most likely the only reason that the caravan had let him stay. He would use anything from lightning spells to frost spells except the use of fire but his preferred and most used spells were the ones of fear._

 _This went on for a very long time, until she was sixteen; he tortured her every time he was out of his precious drug. She waited for the perfect moment when she could end him. She hid under the bed and waited for him to come back from their hunting trip. She remembers the feel of the blade in her hand that was warm from holding it so long. He began to snore and that was her cue. She slid out from under the bed and stabbed him in the chest._

 _To her unfortunate luck and skills, she misses his heart by just a few centimeters and punctured his lung instead. He gasps and tries to breathe. He begins to panic and looks down at the knife. His panic turns to anger and his hands alight with two different spells. He brings her within an inch of her life. She screams but nothing comes out; not even a voice, only the sound of the lightning could be heard._

She felt a warm presence around her much like the ominous warm feeling she gets when speaking to the night mother. Her dream begins to change and calm slightly.

 _"Dar'ari, do you accept this as your own doing?" She stood before her clan as they gathered in front of her. The leader of the caravan stood between them and her leaving a good ten feet between them still. She nods to him. "Then let it be known that you are guilty of attempted murder," the crowd yells angry jibes her way. "However," He turns to quiet the crowd and then turns back to her, "it is also known throughout the caravan that you have endured years of abuse at the hands of your victim."_

 _She waits quietly for the crowd to quiet once again so that the leader may speak. "The usual would be to strike you down and deliver to you what you have attempted; but I have pity on you and your need of freedom from oppression. So I banish you from this clan. You may never return here. This is your freedom, be it a twisted one. Farewell, little one." They turned from her and began to leave. She was alone and empty. She had nothing; not clothing or any means to defend herself other than her claws._

She woke up feeling warm like before when her dream calmed. She felt sad and empty inside. She did not get up and she did not move. She started to tear up and the tears rolled out the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath and then stiffened and blinked her tears away. She was immediately worried to know someone was spooning her. She was unsure whether to turn and see who it was or pretend to go back to sleep.

Curiosity got the best of this cat, as she just had to turn around and find out who it was that decided to invite themselves into her bed. She was very surprised to see that said person was a crazy imperial who was still awake. Cicero was relaxed and had a hand over her side still. He was almost completely opposite of how she was. Dar'ari was tense and her eyes betrayed all her feelings or surprise and also betrayed the fact she was crying.

There is worry and concern present in Cicero's eyes. "Cicero heard you screaming. He was worried about you. Pray tell, what is wrong with Listener?" He asked her with just a smidgen of worry laced into his words. "It was just a bad dream. Or rather it was just an old memory," She trailed off and tears began to run again. Oh but the sweet Keeper was not going to let her cry. He pulled Dar'ari close to him and held her as she cried and sniffled. She had her arms wrapped around him like a vice. He was obviously not going anywhere until she was done being sad.

* * *

The ride to Whiterun was a short and familiar. Shadowmere practically knew where it was he was supposed to go but he is a Deadric horse so everyone was sure he was a special case and was rather smart. Dar'ari was worried to be going into Whiterun for an extended stay. Many people knew her here as the Dragonborn and that worried her more than anything considering her current company had no idea.

The first place they went looking is the inn called The Bannered Mare. Cicero sat down in the less populated part of the inn while Dar'ari went around asking anyone if they have seen a Nord woman with white hair anywhere around here. She seemed rather engaged with one woman who started chattering about anything and everything. He caught just the end of their conversation, "Well thank you for the information. I'll be sure to ask around there."

They walked over to the Jorrvaskr and Dar'ari stood before the doors hesitating to go in. She finally spoke, "Cicero, can you please wait outside here? I do not think it would be wise for you to come with me…" He waited patiently for her to return. He waited a very long time, perhaps an hour or so. Dar'ari emerged from the Jorrvaskr hunched over and a cheek that was beginning to swell. He gasped and then began to take a mile a minute, "Oh dear gods! Listener are you all right? Oh Cicero is going to march right in there and show them who they just messed with!" Dar'ari put her hand on his shoulder and spoke calmingly, "Don't worry, I won. Lets go find our girl."

* * *

Dar'ari opted to keep Shadowmere with her this time because there would hopefully be more people coming with her home this time. They rode slowly because they were planning to not go through Bloated Man's Grotto during the night. They camped outside the entrance to the cave and waited until dawn.

They entered the cave to see that it was foggy but noted that there was also a lit torch just inside. They walked through the short expanse of cave to see the lush green plants and the waterfall. They walked over to the waterfall and looked in the mud around the edges. From what Dar'ari could tell, there were wolves that lived here and lots of them from the amount of prints. She had also seen two different footprints.

They continued down the path noting the absence of creatures. There were birds and bugs but no large creatures. The duo was expecting at least a few bears to have already made an appearance. They continued up the stairs, across the rocky ledge and up more stairs to a shrine of Talos. On the shrine itself was a sword with a note. Dar'ari pocked the note and sword promising to read it later. She continued onwards down the stairs and down another narrow path.

They came to see where all the wolves were. The wolves were looking over the ledge where the entrance to the cave was and more started closing in behind them. They took out their weapons ready for a fight. That's when there was a howl. It sounded human enough. A woman, the Nord with the snow-white hair, jumped off one of the rocks jutting up from the walls of the grotto landing on the ground with a soft thud. She held out a hunting bow and aimed it at Dar'ari. "Who are you? What are you doing here in my Grotto?"

Dar'ari felt she did not have a choice but to pull down her hood and drop her weapons. Her long black hair fell across her shoulders and shone in the sunlight while her ears twitched every which way listening to the wolves moving around. She spoke clearly and loudly to appear strong and fortified, "I am here on business. My mother sent me to find you."

The Nord woman snarled at her and the wolves began closing in. "Please!" Dar'ari begged, "hear me out please!" The woman howled again and the wolves attacked. Dar'ari was disarmed and used her claws to fight. She urged Cicero not to kill them but instead just fend them off.

A loud booming voice was heard against the commotion, "Stop!" The wolves ceased immediately and moved away from Dar'ari and Cicero. A silhouette of a man with long hair appeared on the same rock ledge the woman came from. The woman stayed in her fighting stance ready to make a move when they are all taken aback when the man spoke. "Lambshank?" The man said it with uncertainty and perhaps a little fear, "Lambshank, is that really you?"

She knew of only one person who called her that. She inhaled with a sound of utter disbelief and then yelled happily, "Arnbjorn! Arnbjorn you're alive!" He jumped down from the rock and embraced Dar'ari in a large bear hug. "Lambshank, you're alive! I thought I was the only one!" He sounded so happy to see her, which was beyond surprising since he had always been rather cold towards her. "The clown! Even the clown is alive!" He was ecstatic.

"Wait, Arnbjorn, you really thought we were all dead?" She escaped his hug, "Why?" He looked so sad, "Well I was fighting the Penitus Oculatus agents, and I was injured, but I killed them, and they set everything on fire. I saw you run past and then everything went bad from there. I escaped but assumed that everyone was dead… You should have seen the place from where I was. I was angry and went on a sort of rampage…"

 _He's this excited to see me alive and he barely likes me. And he's even happy Cicero is alive which is crazy since he hates Cicero._ She thought more about all this, _if he thinks that everyone is dead…_

"Arnbjorn! Nazir and Babette are alive too!" The once stoic werewolf man practically burst with joy while the Nord Dar'ari was meant to find stood there awkwardly with a wolf by her side. "The Night Mother sent Cicero and I to retrieve her," she pointed to the woman, "and said that I would find someone very important with her. She was right." Arnbjorn turned towards the woman and waved her over. He introduced her, "This is my half-sister Elisica."

Dar'ari held out her hand, "Pleased to met you, and I'll just forget about the fact you almost sent us to the Void." Dar'ari turned back toward Arnbjorn, "You are coming back with me aren't you? I was told to bring you both back with me." He thought about it for a while, often looking back and forth between Dar'ari and Elisica. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak but the closed it again. Finally he was ready to speak, "Yes. I'll come back with you." He looked towards his half-sister waiting for her to agree.

She looked at all her wolves and to the waterfall. She looked very sad for a few moments. Dar'ari interrupted her thoughts, "You can always come back here. You are relatively free to come and go as you please. If you have a contracts, then you can stop by here after each one." That seemed to seal the deal for her. "Yes. Let's go." She hugged each and every wolf before they went back through the cave.

* * *

The walk to Whiterun was slow and full of idle chatter about the new Sanctuary. It was nighttime when they arrived. They made it to Breezehome and threw all their things haphazardly in the living room. Cicero chose this time to speak up, "Cicero got a letter while you all walked ahead. The courier said it was from Solitude." He handed it to Dar'ari.

 _Dar'ari, I know that you do not like Solitude. I am having trouble with my current contract. Please send someone as soon as possible. ~Aventus_

She was worried about Aventus as it was but his note gave her even more to worry about. If she sent a letter to Dawnstar there was no way they would get it in time and have someone help out Aventus. "Cicero, can you go to Solitude and help Aventus? I cannot go to Solitude and he really needs help." She was almost pleading at this point and it was apparent in her voice. "Of course dear Listener. Cicero will leave at once. Can he take Shadowmere? He would be a lot faster that way." He said with a large smile on his face. He waited for her to nod and then went off on his way.

Elisica went up to the loft and took the small room claiming to be happy that there is a bed, something she did not have the access to while living out in the wild. Dar'ari had brought her notebook with her on this mission and was happy to have something to do. She was busy writing in the details of the grotto and what happened there verbatim. "Dar'ari?" Arnbjorn got her attention, "what became of my wife?"

She was blindsided by his question. She was torn actually. She was unsure if she should tell him the true or tell him she died like a warrior. She decides that the truth is always the best way to go, "Astrid died. She sold me out to the Penitus Oculatus and they set me up with killing a fake emperor. They turned on her and destroyed the sanctuary. She lived through the attack and fire but she was badly burned. She used herself as a black sacrament offering and obeyed me to end it. I'm sorry Arnbjorn."

He was so quiet. She looked over at him and was not surprised to see him looking so sad and distraught. She got up, took his hand and pulled him to his feet, "I'm sorry Arnbjorn. Go ahead upstairs and take my bed for tonight, I will sleep here next to the fire." He gave her an odd look and then spoke with uncertainty, "Don't be like that Lambshank. I know you used to share a bed in the old sanctuary and I know it does not bother you anymore."

She sighed because she knew there was no point to arguing. She went up the stairs and disrobed. She hopped into bed and curled up into the fetal position facing the wall. She felt the bed dip with the added weight. Arnbjorn got comfortable under the blankets. He tried to anyways but kept tossing and turning. Dar'ari was frustrated with the fact he could not be still. She turned towards him and scooted towards him. He embraced her and held her tightly to him and sighed.

"You're going to fall asleep right Arnbjorn? You keep moving around too much." She told him sounding very frustrated. He sighed again, "I'm sorry. It's been rough ever since I thought you were all dead. And what you told me did not make it very much nicer." He paused, "Yes, I'll go to sleep now." Arnbjorn planted a quick kiss on the bridge of her nose and she cuddled up to him closely. "Goodnight Arnbjorn. I'm so glad you are alive."


	4. A Knack for Illustrations

Dar'ari slept in, which is something she had not done for a very long time. She noticed that she was alone in the bed and that Arnbjorn had been gone from it for a while. She contemplated staying in bed for a while longer and perhaps just going back to sleep but she knew Arnbjorn was eager to get to the Sanctuary. She trudged down the stairs to see Arnbjorn and Elisica eating breakfast. "Lambshank, I hope you don't mind but I went through your things and made food," he said between mouthfuls of stew.

Dar'ari sat at the table with them and ate the stew trying her best not to say anything about its blandness. They decided it would be best to take a carriage to Dawnstar and then walk to the sanctuary from there. Dar'ari paid her coins for the ride and took a nap in the back seat while the driver told Elisica what he knew about Dawnstar. Dar'ari would have rather taken horses back but knew that this was less expensive.

They got to Dawnstar by nightfall, which was rather nice so they could walk to the black door in relative peace without having to watch who sees them. She told the door, "Innocence, my brother," and it swung open lazily. They walked into the main room where Nazir and Babette were. Dar'ari gleefully snickered at the surprised looks of Babette, Nazir and Arnbjorn. It was like they were all seeing ghosts.

They were all so happy to see one another, especially Arnbjorn who previously had nobody from his family. She was taken away from her thinking by Nazir's happy attitude. He clapped Arnbjorn on the back and said, "You take as long as you need to get settled in! Whenever you are ready, you can get contracts from me." Dar'ari butted in, "Or you could go on contracts with Cicero, Aventus and I. There is more freedom if you're working with me." He thought it over for a few, "I don't want to stay here and do nothing for very long. Cat, I'll be coming with you on this next one."

"Well we can have Nazir get some of the Shrouded armor but for now, let me see what I have lying around hmm?" She walked off towards her room where she kept some of her extra armor odds and ends. She dug through her chest until she found the article she was looking for. "Ah, here it is," She pulled it out to reveal a very unique piece of light armor made from some sort of fur. "It was a gift. It is called the Savior's Hide." She handed it to Arnbjorn, "You will still have to put on some fur boots and perhaps wrist guards. I still have some pieces of my wolf armor from my time in the Companions." Arnbjorn gave her a look somewhere between disgust, confusion and pain. "No thanks," he said, "I do thank you for the Savior's Hide, but I will just find some of the other pieces on my own."

Dar'ari shooed them from her room so she could continue to write in her journal, except that is not what she told them, "Get out so I can get some rest!" She wanted to finish writing about her meeting with Arnbjorn and Elisica. She particularly wanted to write about her suspicions about whether Arnbjorn's dear half sister is a werewolf as well. She can commune with wolves, which is definitely a unique thing to see.

She had written everything in as much detail as she possibly could and even drew a small line map to show the path they walked along and where it was the wolves surrounded them. She also felt some inkling of wonderment and decided to act upon it. After a few hours of meticulously slaving over a page in her notebook, she had a beautiful depiction of Elisica standing with her wolves when Dar'ari first confronted the wolf girl.

Dar'ari had looked at the perfect lines and details she had put into her illustration of Elisica and the features of the wolves. She began to think of all the times she had pictured something and wrote about it, but she realized now that she could capture better details of her kills and life events with her drawings. She had a glorious idea. She looked through her chest until she found a scroll of parchment and flattened it on her table. She started to put her quill to the parchment occasionally dipping it into the inkwell. She was not sure what it was that she wanted to draw at first but after a few moments of laying down the lines she knew exactly what she wanted to create. It was something she would never forget for it was burned into her memory forever.

Cicero stood behind her quiet as ever. He watched as she started her masterpiece and he watched until she finished it. She began to blow softly on the ink as she waited for it to dry. Once it was dry, she capped the ink and turned around to put it away. She dropped the inkwell as she reached for her dagger in her belt, "Oh Cicero," she put away her dagger and picked up the ink, "you scared me. How long have you been standing there? When did you get back?" He put his hands behind his back and pretended to think, "Cicero came back with the Listener's favorite initiate. He has been here since his sweet Listener had started her wonderful depiction of… where exactly is this?" Dar'ari looked at the parchment. She was going to have to make an excuse for this one.

"This is how I imagined the Dragonborn defeating the World-Eater," she internally screamed at herself for almost letting on who she really was. "I heard so many wonderful stories of the Dragonborn and her defeat of the Dragon God. I remember when she paraded around Solitude in her armor and brandished her weapon proudly." Cicero looked astonished that she had the pleasure to see the Dragonborn. Apparently the stories of how she viciously slaughtered dragons had gone around and reached Cicero's ears. "Cicero idolized the Dragonborn. The Dragonborn was ruthless and really made a show each time she had killed one. Cicero remembers one time when he saw the Dragonborn in action."

"Cicero remembers because he was stuck on the rode with Mother, you remember because you had helped me some time after the Dragonborn defeated the big dragon. Well the Dragonborn had been chasing a dragon in the distance for quite a while. She eventually got closer, enough for myself to see her more detailed. She was in black armor I have seen many Deadra wear and she had a fluffy tail much like yours. She killed the dragon much like the way you drew this, foot on its large snout with her sword driven deep into its skull." Cicero told her of what he saw. She was mildly surprised because she remembers that dragon and remembered it being a rather easy dragon to take down. She supposed that it doesn't take much to please people apparently.

Cicero snatched her work of art and ran off towards the kitchen area with it. She heard the awe and shock from her brothers and sisters. Dar'ari walked out to there to receive many compliments on her depiction of the defeat of Alduin. Aventus was quiet. He had a knowing look on his face that was soon replaced with a feigned surprised look. "You really drew this Dar'ari? Where is this?" Babette asked her with wonderment. "It just seemed like a nice place to me, I have no idea where it is or even if such a place exists," she lied through her teeth. "If I could please have that back now…" She gingerly took it back and retreated to her room with Cicero behind her.

She began to put her journal away from the prying eyes of the jester behind her. She also rolled up her memory of Alduin's defeat. She planned to take it with her next time she visited the Greybeards so that they may have some sort of record of the last Dragonborn. She sighed and put it somewhere she would remember it. "What did Aventus need help with?" She started counting her Septims. "He was requested to deal with a very special case. Apparently someone had a strong dislike for the Dargonborn's Housecarl." He started to gleefully tell the story of how he helped break into the Dargonborn's house so that the Housecarl was dealt with. Dar'ari was seething with rage. She could care less about the life of the Housecarl but to think that they disobeyed a direct order and entered the premise of the house. She inhaled and exhaled calmly as to dispel her rage before the jester noticed.

"Cicero was quite upset that Aventus wished to clean up the mess as best as he possibly could. Cicero is not sure of the significance but perhaps he too knows the Dragonborn." She internally laughed at how right he was, "Well I would doubt such a thing. If I count correctly, then he would have been around 10 when the Dragonborn disappeared. I doubt he had ever actually met her," she said coolly. She looked around the room and wondered what time it was. "I think it is getting late. I am feeling a bit tired anyways. You should get some rest as well. I asked Nazir earlier if he could wake me when it was noon so that I may start planning out my next moves." She began disrobing. "Good evening Cicero," She handed him a broken bow, "if you could be a dear and fix this for me. I accidently snapped the string with my claws again." The Keeper sighed and took the bow from her and went to the armory.

"'Fix my bow Cicero' she says! 'Do this, do that!' Listener sure likes to order poor Cicero around. Cicero cannot blame her. She seems to have a difficult time whenever the Dragonborn is brought up," he mutters to himself. "Maybe she once had a bad run in with the Dragonborn or perhaps she got caught stealing. Dar'ari does seem to have sticky fingers when she enters a home that is not her own." He walks over to where the workbench was and begins to restring her ebony bow. How she kept breaking her bows, he would never know. Where she kept getting all these exquisite and expensive looking weapons was a mystery as well.

He finished stringing up the bow and set it on a weapon rack while humming a tune. "Our hero, our hero; Claims a warrior's heart; I tell you, I tell you; The Dragonborn comes…" He began to hum the parts he did not quite remember, "Beware, beware; The Dragonborn comes…" More humming ensued because he could only remember the tune. "For the darkness has passed; and the legend yet grows; you'll know, you'll know; The Dragonborn's come." He kept humming its tune over and over until he tired of it.

* * *

Dar'ari looked over her mock itinerary and map placing points everywhere she had to go. She listened to the Night Mother some time before she was going over plans and was surprised to know that there was only one contract. She decided that she needed a break from the whole Brotherhood business for a while. She spent many years doing nothing but contracts. It was time for a break anyways. Dar'ari decided that she would first go to Whiterun to pick up some things she needed to sell. She was running low on Septims and had an abundance of pilfered jewelry in her home just waiting to find a new home.

From Whiterun, she would travel to Ivarstead where her companions would wait as she made a delivery to the Greybeards. She would then go on a trip to Falkreath and take a look at the destroyed sanctuary. She was hoping to expand once she got more people in the Dark Brotherhood. She wanted to run up to Rorikstead briefly on her way to Druadach Redoubt so that she could talk with Madanach about how the rebellion is going. She then would have to find some way to separate herself from her friends so she could go to her home in Solitude. They would then hightail it back to Dawnstar she they could go back to work.

She was hoping to bring Aventus with her, but if Nazir were overly stacked with contracts then he would have to stay behind. It was beneficial for him to be working so much because he was learning a lot and making a pretty penny doing so. The downside is that it slightly throws a wrench in her plans. There is no way that she can get all the way up to High Hrothgar without Aventus acting as a buffer between the waiting Cicero and Arnbjorn while she treks to the top after asking them to remain in Ivarstead. It is also going to be the same commotion with Solitude.

She went to the main area of the sanctuary to find Nazir, Aventus, Elisica, and Asuicus sitting at the table. "Ah, Asuicus. Glad to see you again," Dar'ari pulled out a coin purse and handed it to him, "for your great work in taking on most of the contracts Nazir has been putting out. Spend this on new weapons or women. There are Argonian women around right? I haven't seen many as of late." If an Argonian could blush, Asuicus would be red as a tomato. "Elisica, I assume that you have taken on a few contracts of your own?" Dar'ari turned to Nazir, "If you could try and give her the contracts of hunters or travelers, she would most likely enjoy a hunt with her wolves. Plus it would be a lot more believable that way."

Elisica lit up with happiness at the mention of a hunt with her wolves. Dar'ari turned towards Aventus, "Well I would like you to come with me for my break from assassinations, but it is your choice. I will not hold it against you if you choose the coin." Aventus looked down at the ground guiltily, Dar'ari got the hint, "Alright, well Nazir, if you could give him some of the obvious assassination contracts. And please try and keep them close to here just in case there are any problems."

Dar'ari went down to the armory to see if Arnbjorn was still coming with her. He was doing some hand-to-hand combat training. "Arnbjorn," She called him excitedly, "You are coming with me on my journey right?" He took some rags and dried the sweat from his forehead. He walked over and said, "Of course Lambshank. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Where are we heading to by the way?" She giggled and then turned to go, "It's a surprise," she called from the other room.

Next she went to Cicero. He was tending to the Night Mother. She decided to wait so that she does not disturb him. After waiting an hour for him to be done, he turned to greet her gleefully, "Good afternoon my Listener. When are we to head off on our surprise vacation?" She thought it over briefly, "Well I would like to leave as soon as I possibly can, so whenever both you and Arnbjorn are ready." She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Make that whenever the clown is ready," Arnbjorn said behind her.

"Cicero will meet you when he is ready. He has to pick up a few things for the road." He skipped towards his room cheerfully. Dar'ari went to her room quickly and grabbed her pack of extra armor and potions. She slung a bow over her shoulder and put her daggers in her belt loops. She took her sword and sheathed it on her hip. She wore her shrouded armor with a heavy black cloak over so no one could see it. She put the hood on and grabbed her roll of parchment that was to be a gift to the Greybeards and tucked it carefully into the bag. She walked quietly through the sanctuary towards the black door. Arnbjorn was leaning against it waiting for her.

They stood outside in the cold waiting for Cicero. She was happy to see that Arnbjorn was wearing the armor she gave him. She had an extra cloak with her just in case she got cold. "Arnbjorn," she got his attention, as he seemed to be lost in thought. "Here," she held out the cloak. He took it only to give her piece of mind. She was only being nice, perhaps she did not know that the cold weather was normal for Nords, let alone werewolf Nords. He put it on and thanked her. The cold may not have bothered him, but the warmth it provided was rather nice.

Cicero soon arrived outside the door dressed in his usual jester's outfit with a cloak hanging on his arm. "Cicero is ready! Where is the horse?" He looked rather distraught that Shadowmere was nowhere to be seen. "Cicero, we are walking. The initiates are going to be needing horses and we are on a break, so we get no horses," she told him and then began walking towards their first destination. She was upset that they waited so long to get going because the sun was already setting.

Dar'ari walked onwards with pep in her step knowingly ignoring the bickering that was going on behind her. Cicero would crack a rude joke that somehow applied to Arnbjorn and then Cicero would gracefully dodge every one of Arnbjorn's swings. She sighed. _Without Aventus I think I may become as crazy as Cicero,_ she thought. _Perhaps they would all become as crazy as Cicero if he kept up with his jokes and foolishness._ They walked past the time the light finally gave way to darkness. The moons were out that night so there was plenty of light for her to travel by, but for her companions not so much. Arnbjorn and Cicero lacked the night vision she took advantage of having.

They made camp off the side of the road so that travelers and bandits did not see them. They decided that there would have to be shifts throughout the night just in case of an attack or overly nosy animals. There was only one tent and Dar'ari would not dare ask the boys to sleep there together. She decided that she would take first watch with Arnbjorn.

Cicero happily took the time to sleep in the warm pile of furs they had laid out in the tent. Dar'ari sat outside the tent flaps with her cloak still wrapped around her. Arnbjorn sat next to her while she was looking up at the stars. She also liked the Aurora Borealis. This time of year it was blue and purple, two of her favourite colors. "Arnbjorn, you should really get some sleep. You don't have to go sleep in the tent but at least get some sleep," She pointed to some of the extra furs. Arnbjorn grunted, "I'm not tired." Dar'ari lay in the grass and looked up at the stars. "Fine, but don't complain that you're tired tomorrow on the walk up to High Hrothgar." She heard some footsteps and then felt a large fur placed over her. She looked over to see Arnbjorn using the rest of the furs as a place to sleep.

She waited for a few hours until she got tired. Dar'ari planned to give the boys a few extra hours so that they could make the climb without complaining. She walked over to the tent Cicero occupied. "Cicero, its my turn to sleep," she quietly called to him. She waited but got no response. She hear some rustling behind her, and then the gruff half-asleep voice, "I'll take this watch Lambshank." She didn't even get to thank him. She was out as soon as she lay on the soft furs.

Dar'ari woke with heavy eyelids wishing she could have just a few more moments of peace before having to deal with Whiterun and the seven thousand steps. She was happy and warm even if she was lying on the ground. She noticed that yet again she was wrapped in a pair of arms. Too big to be the imperial's arms, which left only Arnbjorn and his lack of concern for personal space. She wiggled free of his arms and he continued to sleep soundly as if he did not keep a captive in his arms at all. She dusted off her armor and stretched out her body. She noticed Cicero who was sharpening his dagger on the ground by the supplies. "Arnbjorn, get up. It's time to go." She called over to him. He grunted but did as she said.

* * *

The wind carried the snow through the air at high speeds and gave a chill to the travelers. Tiny icicles began to form on the Khajiit's whiskers as she walked up the steps. Her cloak roughly fluttered in the wind as she tried her best to keep it still over her shoulders. Dar'ari trudged forward on the steps with Arnbjorn and Cicero in her wake. Arnbjorn was perfectly fine with the cold and wind. He had a cloak on but felt it was not very necessary. Cicero on the other hand was shivering and cursing as he tried his best to get warm. Arnbjorn gave up his cloak to the imperial. Arnbjorn noted that he was exactly as a typical Nord: somehow very resistant to the cold.

They arrived safely at High Hrothgar just before the setting of the sun. The snow had an orange glow that radiated a feeling of warmth. Mental warmth anyways, since they were still freezing in reality. They opened the heavy doors to the warmth of the monastery with sighs of relief. "Wait right here. I will talk to the Greybeards and see if we can stay the night here. Please do not move from this very spot." She turned on her heel and left. "Yes, Listener! I will remain in this very spot until you tell me otherwise. Spiders could eat my face off, but faithful Cicero would not move an inch!" Cicero called as she walked away.

She wondered around the monastery until she found Arngeir. She asked him very kindly to treat her as if she was just a regular passerby whom used to come by once in a while to study. She explained her situation of being in the company of people who did not know. He reluctantly agreed that he would pretend she was nothing more that the occasional scholar and that he would inform the other greybeards of her situation quietly. She handed him the roll of paper that had been carefully packed away and requested board for the night.

She watched as he carefully unrolled the paper and viewed it with a very small smile. True that they were against destroying Alduin and the other dragons, as they were passive men. It was a good piece of history though and he felt that future generations would appreciate this. "This was how you did it hmm?" he asked with a wry smile. Dar'ari nodded. "This is a wonderful illustration," he said as he admired her line work. "Perhaps we will sent this to the college? They may appreciate this very much. I have heard they have much information on the dragons." He talked to her for a while until he noticed they seemed to have been talking for too long. She thanked him for allowing them to stay and keeping her identity hidden. She walked back towards where she had left Arnbjorn and Cicero.

They were exactly as Dar'ari had left them, with the only exception being the look of murder written all over Arnbjorn's face. "We can stay here for the night, but we have to leave in the morning. The beds are this way," she walked off towards the extra beds. She set down her things and carefully plopped on the stone bed. The furs were warm albeit a little dusty. She lay on the stone bed unable to fall asleep. It was rigid and cold. She sighed and continued to toss and turn. Eventually she found a spot that was comfortable enough to fall asleep.

It was a dreamless night. She woke up stiff and sore. She could not complain that at least she was warm for most of the night. She quickly woke Cicero and Arnbjorn as she was getting herself ready. She stretched out some more and smoothed her fur. She waved goodbye to a few greybeards while on her way out. She wished she could again go to see Paarthurnax but knew better than to blow her cover by disappearing to the top of the mountain.

They took their leave and walked down the mountain. The decent was easier than their accent up the mountain. Dar'ari walked with purpose through the icy winds with Arnbjorn right on her heels. Cicero took the time to frolic in the snow and make some silly rhymes. He would chatter about Mother and his need to find her some pretty flowers. He would tell the punch line of a joke once or twice. Both she and Arnbjorn figured he told the first part of the joke in his mind but got too excited to keep it all there. They were finally on their way to Falkreath. Checking up on the old Sanctuary was priority. Delvin would have to be taking part in this if it got too bad during the attack.


End file.
